SENATE, No. 614

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 1996

By Senator CIESLA

An Act establishing special license plates supporting education and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. a. The director may issue special license plates in support of education for a motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in the State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plate shall display words or an emblem indicating support for, or interest in, education. The director shall choose the license plate design after soliciting suggestions from the public on the design.

    b. The director shall collect a $50 application fee for the special license plate in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for registration of a motor vehicle. The director shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle.

    c. Revenue raised from the additional fees for the special license plates shall be distributed in accordance with a county-wide plan developed under the guidance of the county superintendent of schools. All school districts in the county shall have an opportunity to participate in the development of the plan, and the plan shall have the consensus support of the districts. The plan shall describe objectives and activities and shall include a budget for use of the funds. The plan shall be focused on the support of telecommunications infrastructure and information technologies in the schools, with an emphasis on the interconnections among school districts in the county. The plan shall identify the district which will serve as the fiscal agent and host for the plan, and the budget shall describe the recipients and uses of the funds.

    d. The funds shall be distributed to support the county telecommunications plan in the county where the applicant for the license plate resides and shall not supplant any other State educational funding source. In the event that small amounts of funds are accumulated in any year, funds may be accumulated by a county for a period not to exceed three years in order to ensure that sufficient funds are available to support the county plan. The amount of funds distributed to each county shall be determined after reimbursement of the Division of Motor Vehicles for costs reasonably and actually incurred in producing and issuing the plates.

    2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month after enactment.

STATEMENT

    This bill authorizes the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue special license plates in support of education. The special plates would contain markings indicating support for, or an interest in, education. The application fee for the plates would be $50, with an additional $10 fee for each annual renewal, in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle.

    Revenue raised from the additional fees would be distributed in accordance with a county-wide plan, developed under the guidance of the county superintendent, which would include objectives, activities and a budget. All school districts in the county would have an opportunity to participate in the development of the plan. The plan would be focused on the support of telecommunications infrastructure and information technologies in the schools, with an emphasis on the interconnections among school districts in the county. The plan must identify the district which will serve as the fiscal agent and host for the plan, and the budget must describe the recipients and uses of the funds.

    The funds would be distributed to support the county telecommunications plan in the county where the applicant for the license plate resides and would not supplant any other State educational funding source. In the event that small amounts of funds are accumulated in any year, funds could be accumulated by a county for a period not to exceed three years in order to ensure that sufficient funds are available to support the county plan.

Establishes special license plate to support education.